Turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles

ABSTRACT

A turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles includes an image input arrangement having cameras arranged over a conveying path to observe from different angles the orientation of an article moving along the conveying path. A first auto-suck unit automatically selects a vertical or a sideward suction nozzle thereof to suck the article in response to an observation result of the image input arrangement, and transfers the sucked article to a suitable turn-over holder on a turn-over unit. The turn-over holder holding the article may be turned over by 180 or 90 degrees as necessary to adjust the article to a desired orientation, so that a second auto-suck unit or an auxiliary supporting unit sucks and transfers the article in the correct orientation from the turn-over unit to an automatic packaging machine for subsequent packaging.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles, and more particularly to a turn-over mechanism that can automatically detect the orientation of an article moving along a conveying path and turns over the article as necessary for the article to move toward an automatic packaging machine in a correct orientation for subsequent packaging.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of automatic packaging, the orientation of articles conveyed on a conveyor to an automatic packaging machine has decisive influence on the packaging quality. An article that is asymmetrically shaped is not easily adjusted to a desired orientation during conveying using an automatic feeding mechanism by way of vibration or other manners, and manual orientating and feeding of the asymmetric article is required before the automatic packaging can be implemented. The manual operation inevitably results in reduced working efficiency and increased error rate, and accordingly, increased packaging cost and lowered packaging quality.

It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop a turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles to eliminate problems encountered in the conventional automatic packaging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles, so that an article of any shape could be correctly orientated before being fed to an automatic packaging machine.

To achieve the above and other objects, the turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles according to the present invention includes an image input arrangement, a first auto-suck unit, a turn-over unit, a second auto-suck unit, and an auxiliary supporting unit. The image input arrangement includes a plurality of cameras arranged over a conveying path to observe from different angles the orientation of an article moving along the conveying path. The first auto-suck unit automatically selects a vertical or a sideward suction nozzle thereof to suck the article in response to an observation result of the image input arrangement, and transfers the sucked article to a suitable turn-over holder on a turn-over unit. The turn-over holder holding the article is turned over by 180 or 90 degrees as necessary to adjust the article to a desired orientation, and then the second auto-suck unit or the auxiliary supporting unit sucks and transfers the article in the correct orientation from the turn-over holder to an automatic packaging machine for subsequent packaging.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing an image input arrangement included in the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a first auto-suck unit included in the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows the movement of the first auto-suck unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a turn-over unit included in the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of the turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 generally defines the six sides of an asymmetrically shaped article referred to in the present invention;

FIGS. 7 to 11 are plan views showing the movements of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the movement of the auxiliary supporting unit included in the present invention; and

FIGS. 13 to 15 are plan views showing the movements of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIG. 5 that is an overall perspective view of a turn-over mechanism for packaging a symmetrically shaped articles according to the present invention. For the purpose of conciseness, the present invention is also briefly referred to as “the turn-over mechanism” throughout the Specification. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the present invention mainly includes an image input arrangement 1, a first auto-suck unit 2, a turn-over unit 3, a second auto-suck unit 4, and an auxiliary supporting unit 5.

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the image input arrangement 1. As shown, the image input arrangement 1 includes a plurality of cameras 11, 12, 13 separately arranged in the vicinity of a conveyor belt 14 to direct to the latter from at least two different positions and directions, so as to observe and determine the orientation of each article Y on the conveyor belt 14.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the first auto-suck unit 2. As shown, the first auto-suck unit 2 mainly includes a transverse moving gear 21, a longitudinal moving gear 22, and a slide 23 mounted on the transverse and the longitudinal moving gear 21, 22. The slide 23 includes a straight vertical suction nozzle 24 and an L-shaped sideward suction nozzle 25. The slide 23 is moved by the transverse and the longitudinal moving gear 21, 22 of the first auto-suck unit 2 to locate above the conveyor belt 14 in response to the orientation of an individual article Y observed and determined by the cameras 11, 12, 13 of the image input arrangement 1, and is adapted to automatically select either the vertical or the sideward suction nozzle 24 or 25 to suck the article Y from the conveying belt 14 and position the sucked article Y on the turn-over unit 3, as shown in FIG. 3.

Please refer to FIG. 4 that is a perspective view of the turn-over unit 3. As shown, the turn-over unit 3 mainly includes a platform 311 mounted on a top of a rotatable shaft 31 to rotate along with the shaft 31, and two power sources 32, 320, such as two motors or two rotary cylinders, parallelly arranged in two opposite directions. The power source 32 is adapted to drive a first set of first, second, and third turn-over holders 33, 34, 35. The first and the second turn-over holder 33, 34 are directed toward the same direction, and the third turn-over holder 35 is located at a position opposite to the second turn-over holder 34. The first and the second turn-over holder 33, 34 are L-shaped and provided at respective upward bent portion with a suction hole 331, 341 communicating with an external suction device (not shown), and the third turn-over holder 35 is a flat plate having a centered suction hole 351 formed thereon to communicate with the same external suction device. The other power source 320 is adapted to drive a second set of first, second, and third turn-over holder 330, 340, 350 that are arranged in diagonal symmetry to the turn-over holders 33, 34, 35, respectively, and provided with suction holes 3301, 3401, 3501 just like the turn-over holders 33, 34, 35.

Please refer to FIG. 5. The second auto-suck unit 4 is located at one side of the turn-over unit 3, and includes a transverse moving gear 41, a longitudinal moving gear 42, and a slide 43 slidably mounted on the transverse and the longitudinal moving gear 41, 42. The slide 43 is provided with at least one vertical suction nozzle 44.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, the auxiliary supporting unit 5 is located at another side of the turn-over unit 3, and mainly includes a pivotally turnable arm 51, and a carrier 52 in the form of a flat plate connected to a free end of the arm 51. The carrier 52 is provided with a suction hole 521 communicating with the above-mentioned external suction device. The carrier 52 is pivotally turned along a path crossing with a path along which the turn-over holders of the turn-over unit are moved when the rotatable shaft 31 is turned, and is directly connected to a conveyor 61 of an automatic packaging machine 6 from another side of the second auto-suck unit 4.

Please refer to FIG. 6. An overall outer surface of the article Y may be generally divided into a top A, a bottom D, and a plurality of sides B, C, E, F. When it is observed via the cameras 11, 12, 13 of the image input arrangement 1 that the article Y is seated on the conveyor belt 14 with the top A facing upward, the first auto-suck unit 2 automatically sucks the article Y using the vertical suction nozzle 24 and positions the sucked article Y on the third turn-over holder 35 or 350 of the turn-over unit 3, and the article Y is stably held to the third turn-over holder 35 or 350 by a suction force supplied via the suction hole 351 or 3501, as shown in FIG. 7. Thereafter, the rotatable shaft 31 turns the platform 311 clockwise to move the third turn-over holder 35 or 350 to a position closer to the second auto-suck unit 4, so that the article Y held to the third turn-over holder 35 or 350 is directly sucked by the vertical suction nozzle 44 of the second auto-suck unit 4, as shown in FIG. 8, and then transferred to the conveyor 61 of the automatic packaging machine 6 for subsequent packaging.

When it is observed that the article Y is seated on the conveyor belt 14 with the bottom D facing upward, the first auto-suck unit 2 automatically sucks the article Y using the vertical suction nozzle 24 and positions the sucked article Y on the third turn-over holder 35 or 350 of the turn-over unit 3, and the article Y is stably held to the third turn-over holder 35 or 350 by a suction force supplied via the suction hole 351 or 3501. Thereafter, the third turn-over holder 35 or 350 is turned over by 180 degrees, as shown in FIG. 9, so that the article Y is in a position with the bottom D facing downward, as shown in FIG. 10. Then, the rotatable shaft 31 turns the platform 311 counterclockwise to move the third turn-over holder 35 or 350 to a position closer to the auxiliary supporting unit 5, and the article Y is transferred to the carrier 52 of the auxiliary supporting unit 5 and stably held thereto by a suction force supplied via the suction hole 521 on the carrier 52, as shown in FIG. 11. Thereafter, the auxiliary supporting unit 5 pivotally turns by a predetermined angle, as shown in FIG. 12, so that the article Y held to the carrier 52 with the top A facing upward is sucked by the vertical suction nozzle 44 of the second auto-suck unit 4 and then transferred to the conveyor 61 of the automatic packaging machine 6 for subsequent packaging.

When it is observed the article Y is seated on the conveyor belt 14 with any one of the sides B, C, E, F facing upward, the first auto-suck unit 2 automatically sucks the article Y using the sideward suction nozzle 25 and positions the sucked article Y on the first or the second turn-over holder 33, 330 or 34, 340, and the article Y is stably held to the first or second turn-over holder 33, 330 or 34, 340 by a suction force supplied via the suction hole 331, 3301 or 341, 3401 or 3501, as shown in FIG. 13. Thereafter, the first or the second turn-over holder 33, 330 or 34, 340 is turned over by 90 degrees, as shown in FIG. 14, so that the article Y is in a position with the top A facing upward. Then, the rotatable shaft 31 turns the platform 311 to move the first or the second turn-over holder 33, 330 or 34, 340 to a position closer to the second auto-suck unit 4, so that the article Y held to the first or the second turn-over holder 33, 330 or 34, 340 is directly sucked by the vertical suction nozzle 44 of the second auto-suck unit 4, as shown in FIG. 15, and then transferred to the conveyor 61 of the automatic packaging machine 6 for subsequent packaging.

With the above arrangements, an asymmetrically shaped article Y may be effectively adjusted in position in the course of conveyance, so that all the articles Y are uniformly oriented to a desired direction suitable for packaging using the automatic packaging machine 6.

In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, two power sources 32, 320 are provided on the platform 311 of the turn-over unit 3 to drive two different sets of three turn-over holders. However, it is understood the number of the power sources and of the turn-over holders may be increased or decreased, depending on actual requirements for production efficiency. 

1. A turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles, comprising: an image input arrangement including at least two cameras arranged perpendicular to each other in the vicinity of a conveying path for observing and determining the orientation of an article moved forward along said conveying path; a turn-over unit located near a terminal end of said conveying path and including at least one power source provided on a platform; said at least one power source being adapted to drive a first and a second turn-over holder directed toward the same direction and a third turn-over located opposite to said second turn-over holder; said first and said second turn-over holder being L-shaped and provided on an upward bent portion with a suction hole, and said third turn-over holder being a flat plate and having a central suction hole provided thereon; said suction holes on said first, said second, and said third turn-over holder being communicating with an external suction device, which supplies a suction force to stably suck and thereby hold said article to said turn-over holder; a first auto-suck unit located between said conveying path and said turn-over unit, and including a transversely and longitudinally movable slide provided with a vertical suction nozzle and an L-shaped sideward suction nozzle; said first auto-suck unit being able to automatically select said vertical suction nozzle to suck and position said article on said third turn-over holder, or said sideward suction nozzle to suck and position said article on said first or said second turn-over holder, depending on the orientation of said article as observed via said cameras of said image input arrangement; and said third turn-over holder and said first and said second turn-over holder being adapted to turn over by 180 degrees and 90 degrees, respectively, to adjust said article to a desired orientation on said conveying path; an auxiliary supporting unit located at one side of said turn-over unit, and including a pivotally turnable arm and a carrier connected to a free end of said arm; said carrier being provided thereon with a suction hole communicating with said external suction device; and said carrier being pivotally turned along a path crossing with a path along which said turn-over holders of said turn-over unit are moved, so as to suck said article from said third turn-over holder that has been turned over by 180 degrees; and a second auto-suck unit located at another side of said turn-over unit, and including a transversely and longitudinally movable slide provided with at least one vertical suction nozzle; said second auto-suck unit being adapted to suck said article that has been adjusted to a desired orientation and held to said first, said second, or said third turn-over holder or said carrier of said auxiliary supporting unit, and position said sucked article on a conveyor of an external automatic packaging machine for subsequent packaging.
 2. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 1, wherein said platform of said turn-over unit is provided with a plurality of power sources depending on actual need, and each of said power sources being adapted to drive a separate set of first, second, and third turn-over holders to enable an enhanced production efficiency.
 3. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 1, wherein said slides of said first and said second turn-over unit are separately mounted on and brought by a transverse moving gear and a longitudinal moving gear to transversely and/or longitudinally slide in a predetermined plane.
 4. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 1, wherein said image input arrangement includes three cameras, two of which are arranged at two opposite sides of said conveying path and the third one of which is arranged above said conveying path, so that said article moving along said conveying path is observed from different angles.
 5. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 3, wherein said image input arrangement includes three cameras, two of which are arranged at two opposite sides of said conveying path and the third one of which is arranged above said conveying path, so that said article moving along said conveying path is observed from different angles.
 6. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 1, wherein said platform of said turn-over unit is mounted on a top of a rotatable shaft to rotate along with said rotatable shaft.
 7. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 3, wherein said platform of said turn-over unit is mounted on a top of a rotatable shaft to rotate along with said rotatable shaft.
 8. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 4, wherein said platform of said turn-over unit is mounted on a top of a rotatable shaft to rotate along with said rotatable shaft.
 9. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 5, wherein said platform of said turn-over unit is mounted on a top of a rotatable shaft to rotate along with said rotatable shaft.
 10. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 1, wherein said power sources on said turn-over unit are selected from the group consisting of motors and rotary cylinders.
 11. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 3, wherein said power sources on said turn-over unit are selected from the group consisting of motors and rotary cylinders.
 12. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 4, wherein said power sources on said turn-over unit are selected from the group consisting of motors and rotary cylinders.
 13. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 5, wherein said power sources on said turn-over unit are selected from the group consisting of motors and rotary cylinders.
 14. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 6, wherein said power sources on said turn-over unit are selected from the group consisting of motors and rotary cylinders.
 15. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 7, wherein said power sources on said turn-over unit are selected from the group consisting of motors and rotary cylinders.
 16. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 8, wherein said power sources on said turn-over unit are selected from the group consisting of motors and rotary cylinders.
 17. The turn-over mechanism for packaging asymmetrically shaped articles as claimed in claim 9, wherein said power sources on said turn-over unit are selected from the group consisting of motors and rotary cylinders. 